IT'S A BOY!!!

We had our ultrasound on Tuesday and everything is GREAT! We are having another boy and he is growing very well! He weighs 10 ounces already and measures a week ahead of schedule! Micah was pointing to the screen saying "baby!" He was sooo good the whole time. I hope this baby takes after his big brother because I think we have really lucked out with a very well-behaved kid! We think that we have agreed on a name for the little guy and I'll post what it is once we're positive that it's the name we'll use. I am excited about it and I think it's "the one"! And Mat likes it of course because he has loved the name since we were naming Micah. I chose the middle name and we think that it sounds good with the first name. So we'll see!

THE BIG DAY!

Tomorrow is our big ultrasound! We are leaving for Iowa City at around 11:15 am and have to be at the hospital to register at 1pm. We're having a Level II scan which means that they look at every organ and body part in great detail. In our case, they will be taking a close look at the baby's brain and heart in particular. The brain because of our history, and the heart because I was exposed to coxsackie virus about a month ago. I'm excited for the ultrasound, but also nervous. We are hoping to find out the baby's gender tomorrow and neither of us has a preference as to one or the other. We are simply praying for a healthy baby. Please keep us in your prayers tomorrow and pray that our little one is growing as he or she should be.

Baby's Moving, Micah's Changing

Right at 15 weeks I started feeling little kicks. They got more noticeable the whole week and so far, at 16 weeks, I've felt the taps every day. It's so reassuring to be able to feel him or her and it makes the pregnancy much more real.

Micah is entering a new stage it seems. Last week he had a little language explosion and ever since he started talking he is Mr. Independent! He's fighting naps and bedtime again, and throwing some majors tantrums! He's most crabby when he wakes up in the morning and after his nap.

19 days left until the BIG ULTRASOUND! We're pretty excited, but nervous at the same time. We're just hoping that everything will check out okay with the baby anatomy-wise so we can breathe a sigh of relief. Mat, of course, wants another boy and I am completely indifferent. Either one would be fine with me. But, I am pretty anxious to find out so we can start planning more and decide the official name. We have a couple of names for each gender that we like so it'll be nice to have *the name* picked out.

Had a scan last week!

When I went in for my 11-week appointment last week the nurse couldn't find the baby's heartbeat with the doppler. She was looking too low, and I know this because I have a doppler and find the heartbeat with it up higher. Anyway, my midwife said that she either wants to hear the heartbeat or see it at this point so the next day I went in for an ultrasound. As soon as the ultrasound tech put the transducer on my belly we could see the baby moving and kicking! It was so great to see! And of course, he or she has a nice, strong heartbeat in the 160s. I was 11w0d and the baby measured 11w6d. So everything is looking great so far. We have our anomaly scan scheduled for June 24th in Iowa City and should be able to find out the gender of the baby then. I'll be 2 days shy of 19 weeks. So that appointment is only 6 weeks away! I'm 12w4d today and already closing in on the second trimester.

FREEBIES!

I LOVE free stuff! I especially love it when it's stuff we'll actually use! So here are some good deals I have come across. They're mostly for if you have young children, but there's one that anyone could use.

**Free Sample of Goodnight boxers (boy or girl)**
http://tinyurl.com/67oqan

**Free Sample of Parent's Choice formula**
http://www.parentschoiceformula.com

**Free KFC-offer ends soon!**
www.kfc.com/snacker/
Guess the dollar when you open the page

**Call ELMO**
Call ELMO for FREE at 866-356-6847 and let your kids hear him sing a song!(Sponsored by Oral Gum Products)

I'll try to remember to pass along any other good offers that I come across :)

Earthquake

Did anyone else feel the earthquake last night? I woke up to the bed shaking at a little after 4:30 this morning, but was too sleepy to realize that it was an earthquake. I fell back asleep pretty quickly and Micah didn't wake up at all. As a matter of fact, I didn't give the shaking a second thought until I saw the news covering the earthquake. That's when I realized that I'd been awoken by an actual earthquake! Mat says that they didn't feel it at work, but that's not too surprising considering the atmosphere of the factory.

We're Blogging!

Finally, right? There has been a lot happening in our lives lately, and since we're always so busy, we thought we'd start a blog as a way to share the latest with all of you and keep everyone up to date. So bookmark us in your favorites list and check in from time to time to find out everything that's going on with the Thomas family!

I guess I'll start right off with the biggest news that we have to share: We're having another baby! Yep, that's right, the Thomas family is expanding and we'll be welcoming our newest addition sometime around November 20th. We're 8 weeks and 4 days along today and will have our first official prenatal appointment with the midwife on Wednesday. We saw the little bean on ultrasound a couple of weeks ago and this past week we have been able to hear the heartbeat with our doppler. I have had awful morning, I mean, all-day sickness, but am finally beginning to feel better. Mat has been a great help with Micah, chores, and cooking when I'm feeling queasy which has really been nice.

I will also be graduating from college with my BA in Business Administration this year. I'll have all of my classes finished up in mid-December. Thankfully, I will have all but 1 class finished in October before the baby gets here in November. If the baby does come on or close to the due date, I will only have a few weeks of that 1 last class to do with the baby here. I don't have anything specific in mind as far as a career goes, but with a business degree the options are pretty much limitless. Since student loan payments are not required until 6 months after graduation, I plan to stay home with Micah and the baby for bit, but do hope to be working before those 6 months expire.

Mat is still working 3rd shift, but hopes to be moving to 2nd shift soon. He should know within the next week or 2 whether or not he will make the switch back to 2nd shift.

Micah is doing great. In fact, he is waking up from his nap right now so I've got to type fast. He is learning more words everyday. His newest word, which he started saying last night, is "bubble". He's also started to show off and loves to have an audience if there are people he feels comfortable around. We visited his cousins, Lexi and Lili, the other day and he had an absolute blast. He loves watching Lexi and he and Lili are becoming the best of friends. They hugged and kissed each other the whole night, and even did a piano duet.

Watch for more updates coming soon!